Is he Serious? Yep.

Some Observers have a hard time telling whether Joseph G. Cleemann '98 is running a serious campaign for the Undergraduate council.

Who can blame them after all its difficult to take at face value a person who speaks in broad terms of "bringing the university to its Knees." Its difficult not to chuckle at a person who allows himself to be wheeled around campus in a shopping cart as "followers" sing songs of praise. Its difficult not to tune out to someone who deadpanned at Thursday's sometime tense presidential debate " I don't propose to kill anybody - but people act when they are afraid".

But in his demeanor--and his reasoning--Cleemann has all the trappings of a serious candidate, albeit one with a radically different view of councils place on campus.

Cleemann, a former council member from Pforzhiemer house, says the councils passive attitude fails to generate power needed to gain concessions for undergraduates.

"On the one hand council members promise their constituencies representation," he says. " On the other they are unwilling and unable to do so because the council is impotent and irrelevant."

Cleeman argues that in negotiations with the Harvard administration council members settle for "comfortable ruts" instead of confronting university officials on important issues.

At the councils last meeting Cleeman resigned over what he felt was a weak effort to show support for the Harvard union of clerical and Technical workers (HUCTW).

In an attempt to remedy the council's lack of power Cleeman proposes creating an autonomous group of students "Auxiliaries" designed to demonstrate support for the councils actions.

Cleeman believes that with these bodies the council will have the strength that it needs to confront university administrators on issues such as ethnic studies and Core reform.

Although the issue of strength defines Cleemann's platform he has also staked out positions on more standard issues.

While he says that he supports student groups, Cleeman says that he says many problems with the current system.

"Student groups amount to powerful Lobbying groups. I see a lot of candidates selling themselves to these student groups. I'm not going to be their fun raiser," Cleeman says.